Note that certain adjectives change their meanings depending if they appear before or after the noun.
Look at these uses of vrai:
Before the noun, vrai means quite a / elaborate / interesting.
After the noun, vrai means true/real.
See also:
Ancien = former / old (adjectives that change meaning according to position)
Cher= dear / expensive (adjectives that change meaning according to position)
Certain = specific / sure (adjectives that change meaning according to position)
Dernier = final / previous (adjectives that change meaning according to position)
Propre = own / clean (adjectives that change meaning according to position)
Learn more about these related French grammar topics
Q&A
Aurélie
Kwiziq language super star
27/01/17
Could you please clarify what you mean here ?
Merci :)
Melody
Kwiziq community member
27/01/17
It's easy to miss the fact while faux obeys the usual rules, vrai does not. Other opposites do. I made the wrong assumption about vrai/ faux.
All I was suggesting was adding this as a link to the current lesson, or noting in the lesson linked above, that vrai and faux to not behave in the same way as other opposites.
Joakim
Kwiziq community member
28 October 2016
1 reply
Translation
I'm reading "seul sur Mars" (originally in English). The protagonist is testing that his equipment can clean air properly: "D’accord, ce n’est pas un vrai test, car je ne suis pas à l’intérieur à consommer de l’oxygène et produire du CO2". If understand this lesson properly, a better translation would be "ce n'est pas un test vrai" ?
Aurélie
Kwiziq language super star
28/10/16
First of all, well done! That's quite a challenge!
As for "vrai", the nuance of position is more complicated than this.
As I told you before, generally speaking, a lot of adjectives can be used either before or after the noun. Used "after", adjectives' meaning is more literal, objective or based on neutral observation (thus "vrai" meaning "true/real" in an objective manner there), whereas used "before", adjectives take on more of a subjective, figurative or based on opinion meaning ("vrai" expressing more of an opinion of something = "a real man").
So while "un test vrai" would sound very neutral, using "un vrai test" here is also perfectly acceptable, and brings a extra "value" layer to the expression: "a test worthy of that name".
Aurélie
Kwiziq language super star
6/09/16
We completely agreed with$your suggestions, and edited the lesson accordingly!
Merci et à bientôt !
Katie
Kwiziq community member
13/11/16
Adjectives That Change Meaning According to Position - vrai (quite, elaborate, interesting / real, true)
Blix
Kwiziq community member
23 February 2018
1 reply
Un vrai plaisir
Blix
Kwiziq community member
23 February 2018
23/02/18